Vehicle-wheel.



. T. DYER. VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. a 1913.

Patented Mar. 24, 1914l V/lvx/ENTCIE;

THOMAS DYER, OF CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND.

VEHICLEWHEEL.

Specification of -Letters Patent.

Application tiled September 8, 1913. Serial No. 788,528.

To all, whom. it 4may concern Be it known that, I, Tetonas, DYER, a citi- Zen ot' the 'United States, residing at the eity `of Cranston, in the county of lrovidence and State of Rhode island, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Vehicle-lVheels, ot' wnieh the following is av specification.

The object of my invrntmn is to provide a vehicle wheel with a pneumatic tube which is `wholly inelosed in a housing' ot' special construction, in order to .maintain a ruimer resiliency of the wheel, and thereby to serve the purposes,l of wheels having.,y pneumatic tires.

Another object ot' my'invention is to provide means by which,'wliile the pneumatic tube is inflated, the telly and the rim are separated radially by the intlationot' said tube, but when the pneumatic tube is de- Hated, the telly and the riin are adapted to come into engagement with each other, along the tread; by spur teeth or eogs and each cooperating with similar` teeth or cogs on the other so long as such deflation continues.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means to permit the wheel to travel along the road and to minimize jar or shock, whenever the said 'pneumatic tube becomes deflated.

l/Vith these and other objects in view the invention eonsists of the novel construction` and combination of parts, as hereinafter deA scribed and claimed, reference being had to (he accompanying sheet of drawings wherein like reference characters indicate like parts.

Figure l is a side elevation of the outer part or rim portion of a vehicle wheel, with one of the. side plates broken away, and illustrating the parts embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sect-ion of a portion of the housing,r and showing the pneumatic tube confined therein. Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section of the housingr taken on line xfa" of Fig. 2, showing the iiormal position of parts as when the inclosed pneumatic tube is inflated. Fig. 4 is a similar view, showing the position the parts assume when the tube heroines deflated. Fig. 5 is a partial side elevation ot Fim 4. Fig. (i is a` partial view of onel of the guard rings.

M V invention ronsists numbers, namely, a rnn --fzf-; a telly side plates @rfcarried by the latn l ot seven principal ter; a pneumatic tube -f[-,- spokes -m-- and a hub rInfwhich is adapted to be mounted rotatably on an axle. The rim 0f, which has a channel to "receive a solid rubber tire'-t--. prorided with a series of traiisvexselya1-ianged equi-spaced corruations` as #et-H, formed erosswisc upon the entire inner periphery of Said rim, in the manner shown in Fig. l. A hub -nis mounted rotatably upon an axle and Spokes --fm,- extending radially Vfrom the hub -ri-- support the telly ---b in the usual manner.

tiat leather band fis made to fit. into and over the corrugated surface of the rim Hi/fand is held from displacement. thereon. by means ot' rubber towel pins tg-m, which loosely enter openings formed radially of said rim. The 'telly 0.- is roneaved alongl its inner periphery as at --b-,to receive the inner part of the pneumati(` rubber tube and the latter, when inflated, bears against the corrugated surface of the leather hand -f. r1`he plates -r", are secured to the sides of the -telly by screws "fsf, :intl said 'plates extend around the housing, which is designatedy by reference letter Il as a whole, in a ring form 'and of a depth sufficient to have a sliding move'nent. upon opposed side faces of the rim mug. The inner edge of each ring plate. e# abats a shoulder formed on thc felly -b, as at -f-^ in Fig. 2l, and each plate has *its outer edge formed with a series of sour teeth to mesh with a like series of teeth -ag formed on each side of the rim.

'lhe pneumatic tube 4Z- is preferably made of rubber, and is elastic. lVhcn said tube is inflated (by means of an air valve or pump, as heretofore common) it. bears firmly in contar-t upon the irregular surt'aee. formed by the vorrugrations ot' the band -f, which overlies th corrugated inner periphery ot tht` rim wu-Aa lVhile the tube mf/* continues to maintain its inflated condition` the riln Yuw and the l'elly Jr-- are luld by said lulu` and artl .spread apart. radially and art` eonieutrir with earh other, as' illustrated in Figs. l` Ii and i'. llul teeth #w and Y Y rr'' being' then out of engagielnent. ln this: position the lrii'tion ol" the band fupon the pneumatir tube W-./- and upon tht` transverse rorrugjations f1.1-- ot the riln vr-11- Y ttonxprl tht` telly wlm and rim --L-- to rotate or travel together. uit

Patented DIar. 24, 191 4.

when the pneumatic tube lis deflated, as represented in Fig. 4, it can no longer hold radially apart the felly -band rim zzbut said felly drops by gravity to the position shown in Figs. et and 5, vand then the teeth *(21, 0*-, o1 the ring plates -c, c-, engage the teeth we?, a2- of the rim -a as seen in Figs. 4- and 5, along the inner periphery of the tread portion of the rim of and the portion of the outer periphery of the felly which is then immediately adjacent to said portion of the rim. This engagement continues along whatever contiguous portions of said peripheries of the felly and rim happen then to be lowermost during the travel of the Wheel, so long as the pneumatic tube remains deflated, and thus during this time the rim -a a is driven by the teeth Wc1, vc1-, of the plates 0, c of the felly (1l- During this engagement, the telly -cZ- and rim -aare not coneentrically related, as shown in Fig. l, but are eccentrically related, as shown in Fig. 5.

In order to prevent the tube, when inflated, from chafing against the sides of the plates -.c-", Lemploy thin fiat-sided brass rings or guard members Hh# which loosely surround the felly, and each lnember has several dished out grooves vertically-arranged on its inner face, as at -L1 in Fig. G. These guard rings JL- have their inner faces beveled outwardly from the concave seat b1- of the telly, to permit the rubber to enter each groove L1* so that the guard members --L- are made. to rotate together with the tube, and thus wear upon the sides of the latter is prevented. By means of the corrugated leather seat -f-q the tube'is enabled, when in a collapsed condition, to atord sufficient, resiliency to reduce shock or jar as the wheel travels along the road. i

By having the pneumatic tube clconfined within the housing, as described, deterioration of the material is lessened Ato a great extent and the tube kept serviceable to endure for a long period, and at the same time the structure provides for convenience and adaptability to the various conditions that arise in a vehicle wheel.

Having described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by 'Letters Patent, is

In a vehicle-wheel, the combination of a pneumatic rubber tube, a housing for said tube comprising a circular rim whose inner periphery is formed into equi-spaced vtransverse corrugations; a tire upon .the outer periphery of the rim; a felly having a longitudinal concave seat in which seat said pneu'- matic t'ube is held by the air-pressure within said tube; plates secured to the telly and slidable upon the sides of the rim, respec; tively; two metallic rings loosely surrounding the said telly and adaptedto protect-'the said tube from frictional wear, each ring having a series of concavities; wherein. said' tube is expansible, and means whercbyL-said plates are adapted 'to impart rotationV to the rim whenever the tube is deflated.

In testimony whereof I atiix my signature.

C. T. HANNIGAN, IV. A., MUNROE. 

